"Suspicious? Of course not. Decades ago, I met with the former King of Jin on behalf of my senior brother, so I have experience."
"I can tell you're not Feng Qishi, but he can't?"
"Do you think... they all know my senior brother as well as you do? Besides, my senior brother didn't meet that King of Jin many times, so naturally," Shen Lu said patiently, "the King of Jin wouldn't be able to tell."
"What you're saying makes sense," Mu Anxiao murmured.
Shen Lu smiled, "Furthermore, that King of Jin is just a mortal. What can he tell? He..."
"The concubine by his side doesn't seem to be a mortal," Mu Anxiao interrupted urgently, remembering the woman who came to the Mu manor with the King of Jin that day, and the woman who had reminded her in the woods. She mumbled, "...Could it be her?"
At this moment, Shen Lu was completely bewildered. "What are you talking about?"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao snapped back to attention and said to Shen Lu, "Next time you go to the palace on behalf of your senior brother, could you... help observe the concubine by the King of Jin's side?"
"When I meet the King of Jin, I don't get to encounter the concubine you're talking about," Shen Lu replied truthfully.
"You don't encounter her," Mu Anxiao repeated, thinking about it. She continued, "Then try to sense if there's any demonic energy."
"I went today to..." Halfway through his sentence, Shen Lu's expression suddenly became grave.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao immediately showed a look of confusion. "What's wrong?"
"There's a faint demonic energy," Shen Lu said indifferently.
"Really?" Mu Anxiao's eyes lit up.
Shen Lu nodded slightly, sighed softly, and said, "However, it's not very realistic to judge whether there's a demon in the palace based on a trace of demonic energy, is it?"
"Why not realistic?"
"The demonic energy here is much denser than in the palace. The people in the palace are all panicking, worried about the demons in the city entering the palace. Even if I go to investigate," Shen Lu said, "they'll just think that such demonic energy is coming into the palace from here. Furthermore, the King of Jin is a devoted man. If the concubine is said to have a problem, my senior brother's position as a general might be in jeopardy."
"Did I ask you to investigate?" Mu Anxiao retorted.
Shen Lu blinked. "Doesn't what you're saying mean you want me to go into the palace to investigate?"
"I just want to confirm if there really is a demon in the palace," Mu Anxiao said softly.
"Don't you need my help?" Shen Lu felt a sense of emptiness after hearing Mu Anxiao say that.
Mu Anxiao: "No."
"Then..."
"Then you can leave," Mu Anxiao interrupted Shen Lu.
Shen Lu was stunned. "You want me to leave?"
"Didn't you want to investigate the demonic energy in this city? You've already helped me once, and if I keep you here now, it would seem like I'm bullying you too much. So," Mu Anxiao said, waving her hand, "you can go."
"Didn't you realize the source of this demonic energy is right here?" Shen Lu suddenly said.
Mu Anxiao heard this, looked back towards the back door of the Mu manor, and said, "How is that possible?"
"The demonic energy in this city is all spreading out from here."
"What do you mean?" Mu Anxiao asked, looking down at the sack in her hand. She couldn't believe... this matter had nothing to do with Ouyang Ye?
"Earlier, I wandered around the city and found no demonic energy in any other residences. On the contrary," Shen Lu said seriously, "the demonic energy here is the densest, which means the demon is right here."
"Is it on Mai Liang?" Mu Anxiao asked without thinking.
Conversely, Shen Lu showed a confused expression after Mu Anxiao asked this. "Who is Mai Liang?"
"..." Mu Anxiao was speechless.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's sudden speechless expression, Shen Lu thought for a moment and said, "I really don't know Mai Liang..."
"The person outside the back door is Mai Liang," Mu Anxiao interrupted. She didn't want to waste any more time. "Now tell me, is the demonic energy here on her?" Mu Anxiao had not yet figured out some things, and in this way, she handed over all the right to answer to Shen Lu.
Shen Lu listened and fell into thought.
In front of the back door, Mai Liang and Jia Zheng stared at them without saying a word.
Subsequently, after waiting for Shen Lu for a while, Mu Anxiao became impatient. "Are you done yet?"
"Done," Shen Lu's thoughts were immediately pulled back by Mu Anxiao. "You just asked if it was on her." As he spoke, he began to count 'hexagrams' with his fingers.
Mu Anxiao looked down at Shen Lu's fingers, which were skillfully counting, and narrowed her eyes with deep helplessness. "Can't you just smell it with your nose?"
"I don't have a dog's nose like you," Shen Lu said without thinking.
Mu Anxiao said without feeling angry, "You can train your nose to become a dog's nose. You..."
"If you can smell it, then just smell it yourself."
"If I could smell it, why would I ask you to say it?"
"It seems your dog's nose isn't working anymore," Shen Lu said with a contemptuous smile.
Mu Anxiao looked at Shen Lu, who was using Feng Qishi's face to mock her, and felt completely annoyed. "If you have the ability, use your own face."
"If I used my own face, my senior brother would be committing the crime of deceiving the emperor."
"They are just demons, they can't accuse the King of Jin. You... quickly change back to your own face."
"Why?"
"Looking at your face, I can't bring myself to do it," Mu Anxiao said bluntly, raising her fist.
Shen Lu smiled. "Hey, now that you say that, I really can't change back to my own."
"You..."
"I didn't expect that your feelings towards my senior brother and towards me are indeed different."
"Yes, it's different. Do you know why?" Mu Anxiao deliberately asked Shen Lu.
Shen Lu smiled and shook his head.
Mu Anxiao knew Shen Lu would respond like this, so she rolled her eyes at him and said, "Because your senior brother's mouth, unlike yours, is more 'demanding'."
"You..."
"What, you're not allowed to tell the truth anymore?" Mu Anxiao interrupted, looking down at his hand which was still in the position of counting. "Alright, have you figured it out?"
"Your thick skin is truly something. You provoke me and then ask me this question, Mu Anxiao, your skin is really thick."
Mu Anxiao casually hummed in response.
Shen Lu heard this, and in response, let out a cold laugh, feeling indignant. "Your skin is really... not just thick."
"If I'm not mistaken, the King of Jin must be quite anxious, right?" Mu Anxiao seized the opportunity to change the subject.
"You..."
"Alright, you can tell me the result you calculated," Mu Anxiao pointed to Shen Lu's fingers, intentionally not giving Shen Lu a chance to complain.
"Your skin is truly thick," Shen Lu said. As soon as he closed his eyes, the fingers he used for calculating... lit up with a blue light.
Looking at Shen Lu, Mu Anxiao took half a step back, waiting for the result.